Forever in Love (12 page)

Cute, but he was a bit concerned. He trailed his fingers down the curve of her cheek. Her eyes fluttered before they opened and she offered him a faint smile. “Did I nod off again?”

“You did. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” He studied her as she yawned and stretched, her shirt lifting to offer a tease of tantalizing flesh at her midriff.

“Just tired. It seems all I want to do is sleep.”

“Maybe we should stay in tonight.”

She shook her head. “I want to go out.”

He traced the curve of her lips. “You haven’t been quite yourself since I’ve been home.”

“What do you mean?” She stood.

He wasn’t quite sure how to verbalize what he meant, but she didn’t seem like herself. “Didn’t you say you had a doctor’s appointment?”

“Next week. My annual, but that’s not answering my question.”

“Other than being tired, you seem a little moody and it’s too early for PMS.”

That earned him a giggle.

“That’s funny?”

“I just didn’t expect you to keep track of my period.” She walked to the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She paused with her hand on the refrigerator door. “Is that why I always get a box of chocolate covered strawberries around that time?”

He nodded.

“Smooth, Buck. Real smooth.”

“I thought so,” he said with a grin.

Half her body disappeared behind the door, when she bent over. “Are we still going bowling?” Her voice was muffled. A moment later she straightened with a piece of fruit in her hand.

“How about a movie. I don’t think you should be throwing around a heavy ball.”

She shook her head. “Some days you’re too protective for your own good.”

“So you don’t want to make out in the back of the movie theater like a couple of teenagers?”

“As long as I can sit on your lap.”

“Deal.”

***

Bonnie combed her fingers through the wavy curls of Buck’s hair as she stared at the wide screen. True to his word, he let her sit on his lap and she was glad. The ending left her sniffling.

“It’s just a movie,” he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and accepted the tissue he handed her. “But it’s so beautiful.”

“It was, but next time I get to pick the movie.”

“I heard you sniffling once or twice.”

He grinned. “It was very moving.”

She laughed. “Yes it was.”

The theater quickly emptied until they were the last ones in the room. Buck stood and grasped her hand. “I’m in the mood for a steak.”

“That actually sounds really good,” she agreed.

He paused. “Really?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

A speculative gleam entered his eyes.

“What’s that look for?”

“Have you ever thought that maybe all this tiredness and different cravings is something different?”

She lifted a hand and rubbed the crease from his forehead, before brushing the lock of hair from his forehead. “I took a home pregnancy test a few days ago. It was negative.” She couldn’t keep the disappointment from her voice.

He cradled her cheek. “Those things aren’t a hundred percent accurate.”

“No, but a period is.” She lowered her head. Not until she voiced the actual results to Buck had she realized how much she wanted to be pregnant.

“Hey. It’s okay. We’re in no hurry remember?” He swept the pad of his thumb across her lips. “We have time and half the fun is trying.”

His heartfelt words unraveled the knot of disappointment coiled in her belly. She rose on tiptoe to kiss him. “You always know the right thing to say.”

He clasped her around the waist and held her close. “Maybe we should skip dinner and go straight for dessert.”

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, fusing her mouth to his as he lifted her off her feet. “That sounds like a plan,” she murmured against his lips.

He slowly lowered her to the floor and twined his fingers with hers. “Indeed it does.”

She shuffled down the half steps, her heel catching on a snag in the carpet. “Oh.” She teetered a moment, reaching for Buck to regain her balance. Before she could grasp his arm, a hard shove between her shoulder blades sent her careening out of control. She bounced into one of the hard theater chairs, then tumbled down the unforgiving steps. She screamed as a blur raced by. When she finally came to a rest in a untidy heap at the bottom, something wet coated her skirt. She touched the spot then looked at her fingers. Pink stained the tips, even as the image wavered in front of her. Gentle hands cupped her cheek, before everything went dark.

Chapter Eight

Buck sat in a chair next to the hospital bed. Bonnie was sleeping, finally. He cradled her limp hand between both of his and swallowed the tight lump in his throat. Never had been so afraid and helpless in his life. In that moment when Bonnie went sailing down the steps, he’d been torn between checking on her and going after the man who’d pushed her.

When he saw the blood staining her dress, the decision was made for him. Take care of Bonnie first, then go after the thug. Now she was mildly sedated, because he didn’t want the staff to tell her she’d actually had a miscarriage.

He pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes in an attempt to stop the sadness from seeping beneath his lids. He dragged a ragged breath into his lungs, unsure of how he’d tell her this news, when she’d been so disappointed about a negative test in the first place.

He brought her hand to his lips and swept a kiss across her knuckles. The door whispered open and Buck eyed the opening warily and relaxed when his brother-in-law stepped across the threshold.

“What happened?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

“She was shoved down some stairs and there were complications,” Buck said.

Dexter moved to the other side of the bed. “Is she okay?”

“She will be.” A small tinny ring split the air. “Hold on a sec.” Buck dug in his pocket for his cell. “Yeah.”

“He’s at Bubba’s Pool Hall. Him and a coupla his boys are bragging about the movies,” Red said without preamble.

“Don’t let him leave.”

“Already on it.” With that the line went dead.

Buck stared at the phone a moment. This feud had to end now. He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, not when it had cost him so much already. “I need to see you a moment.”

Dexter’s brows knitted together, but he nodded. Buck leaned over and kissed his wife for what he hoped wasn’t the last time. He preceded Dexter from the room.

“What’s going on? You’ve got that look on your face.”

“She miscarried.”

“What! Ohmigod. Does she know?”

He shook his head. “I wanted to be the one to tell her.” He dragged a card from his pocket. “Cool-Ade pushed her down the steps.”

“How did he...never mind. So what do we do?”

“We don’t do anything. You just had charges dropped against you.” He shoved the card at the younger man. “Give this to Bonnie, if I’m not back. She’ll know what to do with it. You tell her what happened. Not the hospital staff.”

Dexter grabbed his arm. “You can’t just walk out on her like that. She’ll be devastated. Let me do this.”

Buck shook his head. “Not your fight young blood. I need to finish this.”

“Then you better come back. I’m not good at breaking bad news to her.”

“If she wakes up before I get back. Call me.”

The younger man nodded and Buck walked away.

***

Buck gazed up at the dilapidated building. He needed a strategy or a semi-clear head. At the slam of a car door, he glanced over his shoulder. A stocky black man, with a round head, stepped from the vehicle. He adjusted the red ball cap and offered a lopsided grin before it dropped from his face.

They shook hands. “Man, I thought I’d never see you in on the streets again.”

“Cool-Ade made this very personal. He hurt my wife and I need to end this. Tonight.”

Red grimaced and cracked his knuckles. “Yes it does. He still owes me money.”

“You took him on again. After what he did to me?”

“He’d gotten cleaned up, but he started foolin’ with meth and all of a sudden I’m missing twenty large.”

“I’ll make sure he’s breathing when I hand him over to you.” Buck stepped forward.

Red grabbed his arm. “You can’t go in there half-cocked,” he said. “He’s counting on you being emotional.”

Buck stalked across the parking lot, gravel crunched beneath each step. “I’m not emotional.”

“You’re not thinking straight and word is, this guy has been tweaking.” The other man fell in step with him.

He whirled on Red. “I’m thinking quite clearly.” Buck resumed walking and Red jerked him to a halt.

“Buck!”

“I swear you stop me one more time and I’ll pop you one.”

“Man, you just got married. What about your wife?”

He shrugged off his hand. “When she wakes up, I have to tell her she lost our baby and before I do that I’m going to make sure he suffers and she never has to worry about him coming after her again.”

“Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Red met and held his gaze. “After tonight, Cool-Ade will not be an issue. He still owes me money.”

Buck studied him for a long time. “Fine. I’ll leave him alive for you.”

They stalked toward the entrance. Buck jerked open the heavy door and crossed the threshold. He paused long enough to get his bearings. Mostly locals hung out in this bar. Any outsiders were usually looking for something specific. Tonight’s crowd were folks from the neighborhood. A momentary lull in conversations rippled through the near vicinity as a few turned in their direction, but once they caught sight of him and Red, eyes quickly averted and conversation resumed.

Stale cigarette smoke, mingled with sweaty man funk and greasy food assailed his nostrils as he strolled farther into the dim, dank bar. Inane chatter and laughter punctuated the low hum of music. His goal was the back room, where business deals were made over buckets of beers and a not-so-friendly games of pool. He flexed his fingers, knuckles popping as he entered the pool hall. A quick glance around and he identified three of Cool-Ade’s buddies. All armed. All drunk.

Red shifted behind him. Buck narrowed his gaze on the medium built man bent over the pool table. Both arms covered in intricate, colorful tattoos, his close cropped hair held a smattering of zigzag lines. Without breaking his stride, Buck picked a cue stick from the rack on the wall and approached the pool table. Cool-Ade lifted his head, a smirk curving his thin lips. Buck swung the heavy end of the pool cue, connecting with the man’s jaw.

Cool-Ade went down, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. Buck swung the stick overhead and brought it down across his ribs. A resounding crack resonated through the hall. One of Cool-Ade’s buddies moved and Buck swung on him, pistol pointed at his chest.

“Give me a reason.” His voice held all the menace of an approaching storm. He tossed the stick on the table, kicked the groaning man at his feet. No matter the amount of pain he inflicted to the man on the ground it wouldn’t stop the ache in his heart or the one that would begin in Bonnie’s.

Red touched Buck’s sleeve. “Don’t do it. Think about your wife.”

“I am thinking about her,” he snapped. Buck knelt next to Cool-Ade, his eyes widened. “You could’ve walked away and let the past stay in the past. Why now?”

“She’s the only thing you ever cared about.” He spat on the floor. “You thought I was trying to hurt her all those years ago. All I wanted was the backpack. You made it personal.” He scowled and winced. “Since you’re not in the game anymore, what better way to get revenge than to hurt what you love.”

Buck swallowed and he thought he’d protected Bonnie. “I may not be in the game anymore, but I have a friend who is, and you owe him a lot of money.” If he wasn’t mistaken, panic flickered in the other man’s eyes. “When I walk out of here, I’ll forget about you and never spare another thought. Your troubles are just beginning ‘cause Red was never as forgiving as me.” Buck straightened.

“Wait!” Cool-Ade grabbed Buck’s pants and he shook him off. “Don’t leave me with him.”

He continued walking, ignoring the man’s pleas. As he burst out the entrance, his phone rang.

“Yeah.”

“She’s awake and asking for you.”

“I’ll be there shortly.”

“Do I still give her the card?”

Buck glanced over his shoulder at the bar. Faint screams echoed above the music. “No. I’ll be there.”

When he arrived at the hospital, Dexter paced outside of Bonnie’s room. Buck slowed his footsteps.

“What are you doing out here?”

Dexter scrubbed a hand down his face then glanced over his shoulder at the closed door. “She—uh kicked me out.”

Buck paused, hand on doorknob. “What? Why?”

“I left to grab a cup of coffee, when I came back she was crying.”

Fear sank to the pit of his stomach. “I wanted to be the one to tell her.”

“That’s the thing. She already knew and when she saw the card on the table she told me to leave.”

Buck opened his mouth to speak and closed it again. “How the hell...It doesn’t matter.”

“She thinks you’ve left her because of what happened and sent me to tell her.”

He shook his head and pushed open the door. He’d never understand how his sassy woman got these crazy notions in her head. Her back was to him, but an occasional sniffle reached his ears. His heart squeezed. Buck had waited so long for her, his love, his heart, he’d never leave her no matter what obstacles they faced.

“Just go away,” she murmured, not turning around.

“I can’t do that sassy.” She jerked at the sound of his voice. He moved closer trailing his fingertips down the exposed skin of her arm. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up.”

“It’s okay, I know you don’t want me anymore.”

Her words twisted in his gut like shards of glass. He cupped her cheek and brushed a tear away with his thumb. “I was willing to go back to prison for the pain my past has caused you, us.” He held her gaze, hoping she could see the love he held for her. “Nothing in this life is more important than your happiness and well-being, Bonnie. I’d gladly lay down my life for you or walk out that door, if that’s what you still want me to do.” He caressed her cheek. “I just—I feel like this is my fault. My loving you is why you’re in this hospital bed. It’s why Cool-Ade singled you out.”